Blood Drive to be Held During Winamac Block Party; Donations Needed!

The second annual Downtown Winamac Block Party, sponsored this year by H&R Block, will not only be benefiting the local food pantry, but the Indiana Blood Center as well! The Blood Mobile from South Bend will be present at the block party from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 16, and Jennifer Shank-Maxwell from H&R Block said it’s just another way to give back to the community.

“The block party is all about giving back to the community, and what better way to give back to the community than to have a blood drive? This will be the first year that the blood drive will be part of the block party; there have been other blood drives in Winamac, which also was part of why it seemed like a great idea,” said Shank-Maxwell.

Donating blood is a very simple, easy, and quick way to volunteer your time, give back to the community, and potentially save some lives. The entire process of donating blood takes less than an hour, and cholesterol, blood pressure, blood type, and iron checks are included with the donation. Most people are eligible to donate as there are very few causes for deferral and only a few medications that are not acceptable: donors cannot be taking antibiotics for infection, cancer patients must be cancer-free for at least one year, and heart patients must be symptom-free for at least six months. Diabetics can donate.

Shank-Maxwell said the idea for a blood drive came about when they were brainstorming ideas for the block party.

“Between Amy Hoover – the H&R Block franchise owner – and myself, we were kicking around ideas and blood drive came up and we decided it was a great idea so I ran with it,” Shank-Maxwell explained.

Donors must be at least 16 years old, and donors under the age of 17 can only donate whole blood and must provide a signed parent consent form. Donors must also weigh at least 110 pounds and undergo a brief mini-physical and health history screening. Be sure to bring a picture ID.

The Indiana Blood Center must see 620 individuals each and every day just to meet the patient needs at the more than 60 hospitals it supplies with much-needed blood. To sign up, click here or email Jennifer.shank-maxwell@tax.hrblock.com.